Society

We, at Citizen Matters, are doing a survey of Managing Committees (MCs) in apartments/residential societies in Bengaluru. MCs have a critical role in smooth functioning of apartments. They have significant responsibilities, managing all common resources and facilities like electricity, water, common areas, etc. They are also responsible for judicious spending of maintenance charges paid by the residents, for both operational and capital expenses. If you currently are or have been an MC member at your apartment/society in Bengaluru, please participate in our survey. It will take only 5-10 minutes. Responses will be aggregated, so your confidentiality is assured. We will…

Sanvidhan Pracharak, a Mumbai-based group has 20+ volunteers across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) who conduct workshops, camps, and one-on-one sessions to propagate Constitutional values among residents in their neighbourhoods. “A sovereign socialist secular democratic republic?” Asmita Sharma, a volunteer with Sanvidhan Pracharak, asks. “Do most of us know what this means?” It’s the second line in the Preamble to the Constitution of India, but Sharma says that the words are lost on many.  The Indian Constitution lays down the framework of the country’s political procedures, powers and structures. It also sets out the directive principles, citizens’ duties as well…

2020 is almost nearing its end. It has been a most unpredictable year for almost everyone across the globe. What COVID-19 has taught the masses over the past year can be summed up as “life is unpredictable, be mindful of what matters the most”.  When everything begins at home, cultivating mindfulness in children through the actions of their parents is crucial for strengthening the bonds of love and respect.  While parents relentlessly uphold the cause of their children’s future and happiness, they must also pause and ask if they have totally forgotten to live and revel in the present? Being…

Bengaluru has seen its share of mobilised violence. Mobilised violence refers to violence perpetrated by a group of people to achieve an identified objective. There are significant socio-political, historic and economic factors that engender mobilised violence, but the inadequacy of the legal system and absence of sensible policing also play a role in preventing it. Existing legal approaches have failed to curb mobilised violence. While some laws aim to address it by imposing restrictions on hate speech and the formation of associations or assemblies, they are often broadly constructed, vague and invariably misused. The discretion conferred by these laws to…

On October 13, Tanishq withdrew an advertisement – featuring a Hindu daughter-in-law and her Muslim mother-in-law – in response to widespread trolling on social media that the company was promoting ‘love jihad’. A couple of months earlier, on August 11, even as the country was emerging from the Covid-19 lockdown, Bengaluru witnessed communal violence.  We are living in a communally charged atmosphere where anything and everything seems to be susceptible to becoming a source of religious polarisation. It is in times like this that initiatives, both at the interpersonal and institutional levels, that encourage tolerance and co-operation between religious communities,…

வெள்ளிக்கிழமை என்றவுடன் கோயில், பூஜை என உங்கள் மனதிற்குத் தோன்றினால் நீங்கள் ஒரு பக்தர், வாரத்தின் இறுதி வேலை நாள் என்று தோன்றினால் நீங்கள் ஒரு வேளை ஒரு ஐ.டி. நிறுவன ஊழியராக இருக்கலாம். ஆனால், புதுப்பட ரிலீஸ் பற்றிய சிந்தனையில் இருந்தால் கண்டிப்பாக நீங்கள் ஒரு சினிமா ரசிகர்தான். ஒரு தீவிர சினிமா ரசிகனுக்கு வெள்ளிக்கிழமை என்பது புதுப்படங்கள் ரிலீசாகும் நாள் என்றுதான் தெரியும், அவ்வாறு வெளியாகும் புதுப்படங்களைத் தன் நண்பர்களுடன் தியேட்டருக்குச் சென்று ஆரவாரத்துடன் கண்டுகளிப்பதில் அலாதி இன்பம். அதுவும் தன்னுடைய ஆதர்ச நாயகன் நடித்த படமென்றால், கேட்கவே வேண்டாம். தோரணம், பட்டாசு, கட்அவுட்டுகள் பாலாபிஷேகம் என களைகட்டும். பெரிய கதாநாயகர்களின் படங்கள் பெரும்பாலும் முக்கியமான பண்டிகைகளையொட்டியே வெளியிடப்படும் என்பதும் அது பண்டிகைக்கால உற்சாகத்தை மேலும் அதிகரிக்கச் செய்யும் அம்சமாகவும் இருந்து வருகிறது. இத்தகைய பண்டிகை நாள்களில், குடும்பங்களாகவும், நண்பர்கள் கூட்டமாகவும் தியேட்டர்களை நோக்கி படையெடுப்பதும், அந்நிகழ்வு பண்டிகைக்…

Cities are often thought of as progressive spaces, antithetical to rigid hierarchical systems like caste. Babasaheb Ambedkar himself believed this to be true and advised Dalits to move to cities to escape casteism. Before him, Jyotirao Phule had echoed the same sentiment. However, studies as well as lived experiences suggest that caste continues to shape urban spaces, albeit often invisibly. The same holds true for Bengaluru, even as it is often thought of as one of India's most progressive cities. How does caste continue to play an often invisible, yet important role in Bengaluru? How does it affect different spheres…

Reminiscing moments from the early days of their romance, J Prasanna (30) and M Murugan (34) celebrated their 12th year anniversary over a simple feast two months ago. It was a celebration that marked the triumph of love in a homophobic society.  Murugan loves Ilayaraja's music, while Prasanna is a devout Sam Smith fan. Murugan is an avid reader of the works of Sujatha and Kalki and Prasanna pores over anything that is written by Sydney Sheldon or Jeffrey Archer. Testament to the common adage that opposites attract, Murugan and Prasanna fell in love in 2008, finding solace in each…

As urban citizens, we all have different desires, aspiration and expectations from our city. We raise issues that we face in our day-to-day lives, we voice our concerns, share our wishlists, but we rarely perceive things from the perspective of a child. This Child Rights Week (November 14th to 20th), we spoke to a few children from the city. Here is what they had to say about the city and what they want from it: K Mithun, Class 6, Chitlapakkam Due to COVID, all our day-to-day learning activities have moved online. While it is convenient for most of us, it…

This Child Rights Week, Citizen Matters brings to you voices from three young community leaders. This is the third story of the series. I am Bibi Rehmat, living in Behram Nagar in Bandra. I study in class ten. When I was 6 years old I came to Mumbai. I was born in Gonda District in Basti, Uttar Pradesh. I liked the open spaces and fresh air in my village, there’s too much pollution in the city. But here in the city, there are a lot of opportunities, more freedom compared to the village, and one can learn English more easily.…